No problem, let's work through this together. We're starting with 978 and 6986 and adding them all up.

Step 1: We'll start by adding the digits 8 & 6 in column 1 and get 14.
We'll write down the last digit 4 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 7 & 8 in column 2 and get 16.
We'll write down the last digit 6 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 9 & 9 in column 3 and get 19.
We'll write down the last digit 9 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 0 & 6 in column 4 and get 7.

So, 978 + 6986 = 7964.

